Learning Center

Welcome to the new learning center.

Learn more about Docket Navigator and make the most of your subscription.

The learning center is a collection of resources to help you learn new Docket Navigator research skills, answer common questions and manage your account. Take a look around, watch a video tutorial, and browse our “how-to” guides. If you don’t find what you are looking for, please let us know.

Search FAQ

Below is a compilation of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Docket Navigator, along with a link to the search results that answer the question when appropriate. You can always tell what type of search was performed by clicking “Change search type” in the top left of the page. The search type will be highlighted. The filters we used will be visible in the Search Criteria section at the top of the page, and you can edit or remove them by clicking the pencil icon or the X.

TIPS: Click the pencil icon next the case number to type in your own case number(s). You can click “Create Alert” at the bottom of your results if you want to be notified the next time a new docket entry is added to the case.

TIPS: Click the pencil icon next the party name to type in your own. You can click “Create Alert” at the bottom of your results if you want to be notified the next time your party is involved in a patent case.

TIPS: You can specify court, judge, party, etc., by clicking the options on the left side of the page. You can click “Create Alert” at the bottom of your results if you want to be notified the next time a new ANDA case is filed.

TIPS: Click the pencil icon next to the attorney’s name to type in your own. You can click “Create Alert” at the bottom of your results if you want to be notified the next time your attorney is involved in a case.

Click here and type in your case number in the first box you see at the top in this format 1-11-cv-1111. You’ll begin to see suggestions drop down as you type in your number. When you see your case number drop down, click on it.

TIPS: You can also just type in the last 5 digits of the case number, you’ll just get more options in the drop down to choose from. Once you’re on the Case Summary page, you can set up an alert on the various Tabs across the top of the page (Parties, Filings, etc.). Make sure you’re on the “right” tab when you click “Create Alert”. Each tab sets up a different kind of alert.

Click here and click Judges in the left hand column of the page. Start typing in your judge’s last name in the search box. You’ll begin to see suggestions drop down as you type in the name. When you see your judge name drop down, click on it.

TIPS: Once you’re on the Judge Summary page, you can set up an alert on the various Tabs across the top of the page (Cases, Orders, etc.). Make sure you’re on the “right” tab when you click “Create Alert”. Each tab sets up a different kind of alert.

Click here and click Patents in the left hand column of the page. Start typing in your number in the search box at the top of the page. You’ll begin to see suggestions drop down as you type in your number. When you see your patent number drop down, click on it.

TIPS: Once you’re on the Patent Summary page, you can set up an alert on the various Tabs across the top of the page (Cases, Determinations, etc.). Make sure you’re on the “right” tab when you click “Create Alert”. Each tab sets up a different kind of alert.

TIPS: Click the pencil icon next the party name to type in your company name. You can click “Create Alert” at the bottom of your results if you want to be notified the next time a new case involving that party is added to the database. Clicking the “Include Affiliates” button when entering a party name will cause parent or child corporations that were identified in Corporate Disclosure Statements under Rule 7.1 to also appear in the list of results.

TIPS: You can view the type of decisions that issue is most often analyzed in by looking under “Type of court document” in the left column of the page. You can further focus your results by clicking the checkboxes next to them.

TIPS: Click the pencil icon in the Search Criteria section at the top of the page next to “document text” to edit the name to the expert you are interested in. Worried that it might have been excluded prior to 2008? Try this Docket Sheet search instead. Click the pencil icon to edit the expert’s name.

The URL in your browser is unique to the search results you’re looking at. Cut and paste the URL into an email to send to your colleagues. Alternatively, you can click Share Results at the bottom of your search results page and follow the prompts.

Click Documents on the left side of our Search page, then fill in a Type of document filter by typing key words into the search field and selecting items from the drop-down suggestions. Alternatively, click the arrow to the right of the cell to view the entire “type of document” tree and make a selection.

TIP: Look at the line item titled “Jury Trial” and then place your mouse over the dark blue diamond symbol to view the average time to verdict in that court. To view the documents that the search is relying on to calculate the times, click the words “Jury Trial”.

Place your mouse over a column header in your results, and notice the little black arrow that appears on the right of the header. Click the arrow, then click “Columns”, then select or unselect the columns you are interested in.

The “posture of motion” in Docket Navigator indicates how a motion was presented or “teed up” to the court. It is the procedural vehicle use to file the motion, and every order on a motion in the database is categorized with a specific posture. Examples of postures are “motion by a party” (usually a contested motion), “sua sponte”, “motion to reconsider”, “stipulated/agreed”, etc. Always check the postures of the motions ruled on in your results by clicking “Posture of motion” in the refinements in the left-hand column on any results page.

When searching for documents there are two opportunities to enter a judge filter; one is for a judge on a case, the other is for a judge on a document. The former just means the judge was on the case at some point in time, the later means that the judge actually signed the document.

The “Case with type of pleading” filter is a means to restrict your list of results to just cases that had a certain type of pleading filed in it. So for example, if you just want to view results from IPR’s, you could use the filter and select “Petitioner for Inter Partes Review” as your type of pleading. Likewise, if you wanted to restrict your results to just ANDA cases, you could use the filter and select “Complaint – Infringement ANDA” as your type of pleading.

Alerts FAQ

Go to your alerts page and click on the recipients of your alert. A window will pop up that allows you to select more names, or unselect names with a Ctrl + click. Only the highlighted names will receive the alert.

A Docket Alert is created when you click “Create Alert” at the bottom of Search Results or Tabs. If you search for cases with a party filter, these alerts will be sent multiple times per day. All others will be sent once each weekday morning after we duplicate your search to see if there is any new information appearing in your results.

A New Case Alert is activated when you click “activate new case alerts” from your alerts page , or your account page. To turn them off, click “deactivate new case alerts”. New Case Alerts are sent multiple times per day as new cases are added to the database.

The Docket Report is sent to all subscribers each weekday morning, and is a complete report of all significant events since our last report. You can turn yours off from your account page by clicking “change newsletter format” and setting the format to “none”.

From your alert, click “Manage Alerts”, or go to your alerts page from the link on the search page or from the account page. Highlight the alert you want to remove by clicking on it, then click the red “Remove” button at the top of the list.

From your alert, click “See this Result”, or from your alerts page, highlight the alert name by clicking on it, then click “Go To” at the top of the list. Your search criteria will be visible at the top of the page. If you need the edit the criteria, use the X or pencil icon on the line you wish to edit. Once your search is corrected, click “Create Alert” at the bottom of the page and follow the prompts. Then go back to the alerts page and delete your old alert by highlighting it and clicking “Remove” at the top of the list.

Expand your research superpowers.

Please take a moment and browse through our collection of webcasts below to become better acquainted with all the tools at your disposal when using Docket Navigator. This growing library of useful tutorials will help you make the most of your subscription. If you still have questions after watching our videos, just let us know. We are happy to help you.

The scope of our data.

The database now includes all patents from every electronically available complaint going back to 2000 in the district courts. It also includes every claim term going back to 2002.

Every amended complaint is searched for newly asserted patent numbers, and those patents are entered into the database as well. A subset of Answers that meet certain criteria are also checked for new patents in the counterclaims and those patents are entered on a daily basis.

All significant rulings in the district court patent cases have been indexed back to January 2008.

Patent numbers*

2000

Claim terms*

2002

Basic case information
(case number, parties, etc.)

2000

Indexed Rulings and selected pleadings*

2008

*If the complaint or other relevant document is electronically available.

For the ITC, EDIS is checked for newly filed documents and cases on a daily basis. That information is added to Docket Navigator the same way the district court documents are processed. The database contains a complete docket sheet for every ITC case that is electronically available on EDIS, as well as every patent number that is electronically available. The significant rulings are entered on a daily basis, from 2012 forward.

The USPTO’s PRPS portal is checked for newly filed documents and cases on a daily basis. Currently included in the database is a docket sheet for every IPR and CBM that is electronically available through the PRPS, as well every patent number that is electronically available. Rulings are indexed and searchable by type of document and legal issue where applicable.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) assigns both US Patent Classification (USPC) and Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) codes to each patent. Both systems allow patents to be tagged with more than one classification when the patent overlaps several areas. The USPC system is somewhat arbitrarily arranged and not inherently hierarchical, however the National Bureau of Economic Research organized the approximately 600 USPC codes into six categories and 39 subcategories. The CPC system is inherently hierarchical with nine top-level divisions, 126 subcategories, and about 650 4-digit CPC codes. Both the USPC and the CPC divide these codes into multiple levels of subcodes.
Docket Navigator tags litigated patents with both the USPC and CPC codes and subcodes. The complete list of codes and their titles is available on the Abstract tab of the patent detail page under the headings: Main U.S. Patent Class, Other U.S. Patent Classes, U.S. Patent Class Search Field, and Cooperative Patent Classes. The complete list of subcodes are available under the headings: U.S. Patent Class subcodes and Cooperative Patent Classes subcodes.

A search by patent class in Docket Navigator returns patents, or other items associated with those patents, which are tagged with any of the specified USPC or CPC class codes. Selecting the criteria shows a hierarchical arrangement with both the USPC and CPC classes at the highest level. A search may include categories from either or both systems.

Manage your account.

The account manager is a simple, intuitive set of tools for managing group subscriptions to Docket Navigator services. Add or remove users, set permissions, assign passwords and more.

There are three places where you can enter your login credentials on our website. You’ll find the first two on the header and footer of our website. You can also bookmark the login page so that you can easily return to it later.

Once logged in, click on My Account to see your account details.

On the Account Summary page, click on manage group subscriptions.

Manage users and authorize services using the Account Manager Control Panel.

Give feedback.

Join our feedback community.

Ask questions, suggest enhancements and vote on suggestions posted by other beta users.